Shea, who said Fish and Game has never tried to verify those numbers, said California doesn’t have enough game wardens to chase violators, so the ban is not strictly enforced. But the issue is taken seriously in Hawaii, where every report of a ferret is checked. The penalty for importing, selling or possessing a ferret in Hawaii is a fine up to $200,000 and as many as three years in jail.

California’s 80-year-old ban can be changed by commission vote or legislation, and there have been six attempts at a bill since 1994. A 2004 proposal came closest when it reached the desk of the governor — Arnold Schwarzenegger, who appeared with a ferret in “Kindergarten Cop.” He vetoed it.